Shipwrecked
by sorakazuma
Summary: Set at the start of the New World arc. Luffy is about to embark on his trip back to Sabaody, and Hancock has to settle with the fact of not knowing when she will see him next.


Shipwrecked

One Piece

Luffy x Hancock

_ Some LuHan, by request!_

The snow crunched under Luffy's sandals as he trudged back towards the water, and out of the jungle. It had been frigid for two days now and even as it dusted his shoulders and dissolved in his fine black hair he walked on, as if it were the mildest day in spring. Within a few hours, it probably would be spring.

Rayleigh had left months ago, abandoning Luffy to the wilds to fend for himself, to train on his own, in his attempts to become stronger. With the ability to use Haki now so completely in the palm of his hand, he could sense things for miles from the slither of the poisonous vipers, to the stomp of a rhino on the other side of the island, to the killing intent of a panther as it stalked its prey. He could see, in the pitch dark, without the use of his eyes like he was walking down a busy street in the middle of the day. He had become inherently good at following details, sensing stress and expecting attack.

Which was why he was on edge now.

In six months, there had been no human contact with this island, other than him, and Rayleigh. He had no boat to escape on, and no ships had come. He was shipwrecked, in the middle of seasonal, strong world hell to the point where he was beginning to forget what people looked like.

But tonight, the animals had been alerted to the presence of another on the island, and Luffy had been able to see it transparently. He headed for the destination with a mixture of apprehension and excitement. Who was it that had made the sorry mistake of landing on his island?

He stuck to the tree-line, watching as the shadow moved up the embankment. There was no ship that he could see out on the water, and the animals were now giving him a strange reaction, one that he couldn't read. He saw the figure coming around the bend, taking in how utterly tall the person was.

Breaking from the forest, he surged through the snow, pouncing on the unwanted guest like a large cat on dinner. The body went down with relative ease and a cry that sounded decisively feminine. Luffy blinked as the hood fell backwards, spilling raven hair that looked like black ink on the snow.

"L-L-Luffy…" Ice-blue eyes stared up at him from a completely flushed face, her mouth quivering and open as if it refused to shut properly.

He blinked, eyes recognizing the person he had tackled to the ground. "Oh. Hi Hancock."

She swallowed, her eyes gazing down to where his hand was pressing ever-so obliviously against the swell of her breast. "W-Would … c-could you… ahm…"

He followed her stare, only then seeming to notice how he was laying over her. "Oh! Yeah, my bad." He grinned, sitting back into the snow and giving her much-needed space to breathe. The rise and fall of her chest came as if she had run a marathon and he tilted his head, noticing her current state. "Are you okay? Did you run here, or something?"

"Hah." The Shichibukai picked herself up, brushing the snow from her long curtain of hair. "There's no way I could run here." She said, shyly trying to meet his gaze.

"But you could, if the ocean turned to ice or something!" He pointed out with a grin. "Where's that Aokiji guy when we need him?"

She stared at him and then burst out into laughter. "You are about the only pirate I know that would ask for the company of a marine admiral." She told him.

He smiled, reaching up to readjust his famous straw hat, his hand hanging in midair before he realized it wasn't there. He looked up as if to double check and then let his hand fall, rubbing the back of his head. It was crazy how he hadn't thought about his most prized possession at all lately and then one person from the past entered his crazy world and he was back to his old habits. "But… seriously, why are you here?" He asked after a long moment.

Her blue hues met his raven ones. "Tomorrow is the day you start heading for Sabaody."

"Eh?!" He blinked, his eyes getting larger. "No way, really?!" He grinned, folding his legs Indian-style. "Two whole years have passed huh…" He said, his voice growing nostalgic. "I can't wait to see everyone. I wonder how they've all changed." He grinned. "I bet they're a million times stronger now!"

"And how have the two-years been treating you, Luffy?" She asked him softly, folding her long legs up so that she could sit beside him. Her blue eyes looked him over appraisingly, trying to keep from blushing all the while.

Even after two-years he still wasn't that much taller. She didn't know if he would ever surpass her, but the fact that he was shorter than her had never really mattered anyway. He had put on a good bit of muscle during the time spent apart, enough to make her take notice. His hair was still short and dark, the black strands messy from not being flattened down by his hat and his expressive eyes were still the same as always, as he stared off into the distance.

Or perhaps they weren't. There was a sense of maturity in them, one that could only have been obtained through a hard life of growing up and knowing loss. Her eyes traveled to his chest, to the hideous cross-shaped scar that had been burned into his skin. He would never outgrow it, and it would probably never fade, a testament to living on, on the day that his brother had died.

"Huh?" Luffy blinked up at her. "What do you mean? I've gotten a ton stronger since we last met! Bet I could take your sisters down no problem now!"

"I doubt that." Hancock giggled, remembering how much trouble Sonia and Mari had had with fighting with him in the first place, but not able to stop herself from teasing him.

"OH YEAH?!" He yelled, getting to his feet. "You wanna go?! I'm pretty sure I could take you too!"

Hancock's mouth fell open, and she found herself at a loss. "L-Luffy… t-that… I-I…. mean…"

He was staring her down, instantly ready for a fight, but with words like that, a battle wasn't what she had in mind. "Yeah, yeah," He huffed, taking her stammering as cowardice. "That's what I thought." He slumped back into the snow. "Oh well." He smiled. "I wouldn't want to hurt you anyway."

"W-Why do you say things like that?" She asked after a minute, finding herself pressing a hand to her chest as if to stop her rapidly beating heart. He tilted his head as if he hadn't heard her right. "L-Luffy… there's something I've been meaning to ask you." She fidgeted nervously, her pale eyes dancing. "I-I've been thinking a lot a-and I've always wondered… what it would be like to get married." She swallowed. "S-So-"

"I'm not ready for any of that." He cut her off, his black eyes looking out on the endless dark horizon.

Her heart stopped as she stared over at him, wondering if he had sensed where this conversation was going. Her lower lip quivered. She hadn't been expecting to be outright rejected and the pain was nearly unbearable. She wanted to be his so badly in all ways and she had waited patiently the last couple of years only thinking of him. To be shut down so effortlessly…

He seemed oblivious of the pain he caused as he looked over at her because he smiled. "I still haven't become Pirate King. That's my number one priority. When I think about it, I'm only nineteen. There's no way I wanna get married any time soon."

She stared at him, grinding her teeth together to stop from wanting to cry. He had a dream, and he was prepared to see that through to the end. "I see." She gave a nod. "I understand that." Still it meant that after the short trip to Sabaody, they would be parting ways again. It had been a nice security blanket, having him living on the training isle of the Kuja warriors, just a few miles away from Amazon Lily. When he regrouped with his crew, he would be gone to the New World, and she still had yet to make up her mind.

On whether to follow him.

Or let him go.

The thought of losing him stung more than his rejection ever could. Her eyes filled with tears. How cruel life was… they only had a few precious hours together and then it could be another two years before she saw him again, for all she knew.

She closed her eyes, leaning her tall body over until her forehead was resting on his shoulder. She wanted to order him not to leave, to plead with him, but she knew the kind of man he was. He was hopelessly stubborn and his will was resolute. He would never break even if she demanded it, and she knew she couldn't cage him; she knew the terrible weight that shackles held.

"Hancock?" His voice was soft as she scooted close to him, her face hidden behind her curtain of hair. "Are you cold or something?" He asked, wrapping an arm around her as if that would protect her from the snowy night and the oncoming frostbite.

She trembled at his touch, shaking her head, her cheek lying against the curve of his arm. "Just… let me stay like this for a little while."

"Mhmn." Luffy gave a small nod. "Got it."

She melted up against him. He said nothing else, just squeezing her closer when he felt her shoulders shake and she bit at her bottom lip, grateful that he couldn't see her silent tears. She had told herself she would never cry again over anything again and here she was breaking down at the thought of losing a man… her man. She was convinced that there would never be another like Monkey D. Luffy, not for as long as she lived.

"Shouldn't you be getting back to your ship?" He asked sometime later, his fine brow knitted together as she pulled away to wipe her face.

She blinked away tears, trying to recompose herself. "I just… would like to stay here with you." She said softly.

"You wanna be shipwrecked too?" He grinned.

His enthusiastic smile made her smile, despite the pain in her heart. "You have to have wrecked a ship to be shipwrecked, Luffy." She pointed out.

"I've wrecked plenty of ships! What else would you call being stuck here anyway?!" He pouted, put off by her gentle correction of his words.

"Stranded?" She suggested.

"Not cool enough." He crossed his arms, sulking.

His hurt expression was more than she could take. She leaned back in, her slender fingers gentle on his cheek. He looked up at her, opening his mouth as if to say something and she took advantage of his moment of weakness, plucking at his lips with her own.

She had always wondered if being close to a guy would pull up horrible memories of her traumatizing past, but contact with Luffy only brought up nice, overwhelming responses. The kiss was ghostly light, but her world mine has well somersaulted because they had barely touched and she was already melting back into the snow.

"What was that for?" The Straw Hat pirate stared at her with wide eyes, looking completely confused about how he had ended up in this situation.

She let out a soft panting breath, trying to get her wits about her. With the expression he was giving her, maybe something had gotten through and he'd become aware of how she felt. "I…" She gathered up her courage. "I really like you." She blurted out, before her brain could process how exactly she wanted to confess.

Luffy blinked. "I know that." He said point blank. "I really like you too." He tilted his head. "Did I do something? I don't understand…"

Hancock sighed. "You don't have to get it now." She told him. He had no idea what she was getting at, and she could tell, but knowing that he cared about her for now was close enough. There was no stopping it… they both had chosen different paths to walk. Maybe they would intersect down the road someday, and when they did, maybe he would have come to miss her, the way she was going to miss him. "Just one day, maybe you'll know, and think of me."

END


End file.
